"Grew a mustache and a mullet..." Army by Ben Folds Five! (11/18/18)

"... but it's easier on me than having to admit that she likes someone else :("

Are you suffering from emotional distress after being callously kicked to the curb by your significant other? Do you find that numbing yourself with alcohol is less and less effective? Well, try turning the tables and benefiting from that bad breakup! All you've gotta do is weave a sob story about your partner's untimely demise... consistency be damned! Turn that dump into a bump!

This Rock Band 3 custom song, My Girlfriend's Dead by The Vandals, is my fifteenth release and the first (FOR SHAME!) custom by these pilfering punks available in the database. If all goes according to plan, it won't be the last. The barbarian horde has set its sights on the C3 database and invasion is imminent... even if the army is only a single song for now. An army of one!

My first memory of the Vandals was hearing their cover of So Long, Farewell from The Sound of Music while using the Yahoo! Radio function built into Yahoo! Messenger in the late '90s. While I'm a bit surprised they never had a single released by Harmonix as DLC, I'm even more surprised they have no customs in the database. Luckily, this song request post by Seahorste lit a fire under some Roman asses.

This adorably sad tune was the Obvious Choice featured in the Vandals entry of my suggestions thread last July. Only a few weeks ago did Sideshow, MrPrezident, and I begin collaborating to bring this custom to life, but within a week everything was ready to go!

...and then I had a hard drive failure.

So just like Rome, this song was indeed built in a few days*, but then Rome got sacked. Luckily, I didn't lose any work related to this song, but having to deal with the fallout of that situation distracted me from finishing up all the little details and delayed the custom's arrival in the database. But I think it was worth the wait! The lip sync turned out wonderfully and I got to experiment with some venue options I hadn't yet had reason to use; namely, the silhouette spotlight effect at the beginning and the strobe light effects throughout (especially during the ending). I hope the custom venue will make this song a party pleaser!

I had a hell of a time charting the bass part for this song. No matter how I adjusted the audio settings, I couldn't really "pull" it out in certain sections, and a MIDI I acquired to assist me proved horribly inaccurate in many places. I think the bass chart is good enough, but improvements and suggestions are more than welcome.

I had an even hellier of a time charting the vocals for this one because I consistently got slaughtered during playtests. Why? Because I was experimenting with Tuning Cents and altering Tuning Cents after "installing" a song into the Wii's library requires a cache refresh for the changes to go into effect. So I wasted a ton of time and made a million tweaks to the vocals thinking it was a problem with my chart, but, no, it was the gosh darn Tuning Cents. Lesson learned!

About the opening Ba ba ba ba ba vocals: During live shows, the Vandals don't whistle the whistling part, they "ba" it, and the audience joins in. So to increase the fun factor, that's how I tried to chart it. Because whistling this would be very tricky, I excluded it from solo play. It's only present in the harmonies version, and it's charted to the third harmony slot. Witness me! (Thanks for reminding me to explain this, BornGamerRob!)

Shout-out to my collaborators, Prez and Sideshow, for the wonderful work they contributed to this custom. Sideshow's drum chart is one of the most intense featured in any of my customs, and Prez went above and beyond with the pro keys chart. While I wouldn't be playing the drum part anytime soon (because I am awful), I'll definitely be giving the pro keys part a playthrough soon!

If you'd like to contribute improvements or animationsor if you have suggestions for how I can do better, please contact me. And Jerry, just remember... it's not a lie if you believe it.

Jukebox the Ghost were, for the longest time, a band just out of my Rock Band library's reach. They were never featured in my suggestions thread because they have an astonishing five tracks from their wonderful sophomore album available on the Rock Band Network. Joy of joys! Too bad those songs were never officially released for Wii users

This Rock Band 3 custom song, Static by Jukebox the Ghost, is my sixteenth release and the third custom featuring my indie-rock idols available in the database. The project came together and was completed in about two weeks because I couldn't contain my enthusiasm when SteveHasAMustache posted Beady Eyes on the Horizon in the database. I immediately reached out to him about collaborating on another Jukebox the Ghost song (JTG for the rest of this post) and he asked me what I'd like to get made. There was no question. "Static to to the Heart!"

A handful of handsome hipsters having their hair heated.

Then Steve informed me that it's actually just entitled Static. All these years and I never realized I was adding three words to the title. Heh. Some fan I am. But I swear, I have been a huge fan of the band for years! My first memory of hearing their music was over the venue speakers during the intermission at a live show while one band left the stage and another set up their equipment. I didn't have SoundHound yet, so I just memorized a few of the lyrics and, when I got home, typed them into a Google search as a quote with the word lyrics attached. Bam! I discovered JTG (the song was Hold It In, available as a C3 release!). I devoured their first two albums and have followed them ever since. I've seen them three times in concert and own two t-shirts. This means I'm cool and have street cred. The band still makes good music, but nothing touches those first two releases. Since the second album is so well represented on the RBN, I thought I'd show the debut some more love. I'm glad Steve agreed!

[Gameplay video courtesy of MrPrezident; video not entirely reflective of custom venue work; here is the video on Mega]

Steve did all the heavy lifting for this one. I am both humbled and gracious that he trusted me to apply the glossy paint and publish it in the database after completing the vocals. Steve did the charts for the guitar, drums, keys, and pro keys. He didn't chart the bass part, though... because there is no bass part. Which actually sucked for me, because I thought I could contribute that to the project!

Alas. But having the standard three instruments made rigging up the custom venue much simpler; there's no need to account for "what-ifs" of when an instrumentalist is or isn't on stage. So I was able to make an impressive, rigid spectacle to entertain the players and audience when the rocking begins.

As for the vocals, I'm really proud of the charts. After completing the melody and beginning the harmony, I realized something sounded... off. While ignoring Tuning Cents worked for the melody, once I was listening to the harmony, I realized it needed tweaking. So all parts are jacked up a quarter of a note, and I can happily say after testing out the vocals multiple times that this seems like the sweet spot.

"Hey! Jay Tee Gee has two singers! Why does this song has three vocal parts?"

Yeah, Ben and Tommy usually trade off on main vocal duties with two-part harmonies, but I swear I hear another harmony on this track, albeit rarely. After watching and listening to a handful of live performances of the song, I put that real, official harmony in the HARM2 slot and added the phantom harmony as a bonus in HARM3. It's only present for four phrases in the entire song, so I almost feel like advertising the song in the visualizer as having three vocal parts is lying... so, now you know the story!

If you'd like to contribute improvements or animationsor if you have suggestions for how I can do better, please contact me. Now let's burn this motherfucker down because.

Some things take time. Life gets in the way of what we have to do versus what we want to do. And when we do get the time to do what we want, we often learn there aren't enough hours in the day if you really want to do something right. But some things are worth the wait... and the moment has finally arrived.

This Rock Band 3 custom song, Satellite by Guster, is my seventeenth release and the first full-band custom available in the database featuring one of my very favorite bands. The project took a long time to complete because the wheels of custom creation can grind quite slowly sometimes. But I guess it's appropriate that the satellite we inhabit has nearly made a complete revolution around its sun since the idea was sparked. And we totally did gang up on this custom.

It all started when Chainsaw Octopus and I finished up collaborating on Moving to New York by the Wombats. The next song I wanted made was Satellite, so Chainsaw Octopus cracked out the tempo map 'n' drums chart 'n' sent it my way... but nothing came of it. Back then, you see, I didn't have the requisite skills to create and publish my very own custom; I was only capable of contributing vocals to the works of other authors. In the past year, that's changed.

Also in the past year, C.O.'s Reaper project ended up in the hands of BornGamerRob, who laid down the initial vocals chart. BornGamerRob was himself just getting into authoring at the time, but his work was completely serviceable. Only because of my crippling perfectionism did I invest so much (practically unnecessary) time into polishing his melody and adding the harmonies. B.G.R. laid a very solid foundation upon which I was able to build a vocalist's villa. And yes, that sounded better in my head. Many thanks to him!

So, now the drums and vocals were accounted for. I knew I could handle the bass and rudimentary pro keys myself, but tackling the plastic guitar intimidated me. I knew I wouldn't be able to do it justice, so I concentrated on completing the other two parts. I really love my bass chart for this song, and I think you'll dig it, too.

The critical absense of a guitar chart held this sucker up for much longer than I had ever anticipated. The dryvox and venue (typically my final steps when I'm publishing a custom) were complete and collecting dust, holding out for a hero to chart the guitar. Enter TomGuy. Tom and I have worked together in the past and he's a swell chap. When I decided to contract the job out to a freelancer with more experience, he was one of the first authors I thought of contacting. Lucky for me, he was eager to contribute to such a special song. He whipped up a lovely guitar part for Satellite and the final piece of the puzzle was now in place.

That isn't to say the puzzle is perfect, though. I've done my best with fleshing out the pro keys chart as best as my ears would allow, but there's definitely room for additions and improvement. If any keyboard and/or Guster enthusiast is up to the task, get in touch. We already have four authors involved with this song, so why not make it five?

It was an honor working with all of the above authors to bring this to life after such a long wait. I hope you enjoy it! If you'd like to contribute improvements or animationsor if you have suggestions for how I can do better, please contact me. Thanks for reading!

"You better not be sittin' or punchin' in early, but be prepared to stay real late..."

Happy Canada Day from an American who eagerly eats up much of the great music you fellas graciously export! Better download it before the digital tariffs take effect or the wall goes up to separate your frozen dystopian wasteland from our capitalist paradise! Here, have an olive branch...

This Rock Band 3 custom song, Oh, The Boss is Coming! by the Arkells, is my eighteenth release and the first custom available in the database featuring these boys from Hamilton, Ontario. And what an absolutely rockin' debut it is! This might be the most intense custom I've released, and I hope the custom venue amplifies the experience. And while this is their first representation in the database, it shan't be the last! But have some patience... good things come to those who wait. Like annexation.

moar awards plz k thnx

Almost exactly a year ago, Arkells were added to my suggestions threadand this custom was the very obvious Obvious Choice. Since I gave them such an in-depth write-up in that thread, I'll try not to repeat myself here... but it is worth reading that post if the Arkells pique your interest.

While my top bands have shuffled a bit in the past few years, with the Sam Roberts Band, the Sheepdogs, and Mother Mother replacing the Arkells as my most-scrobbled Canadian band, the Arkells are where my fascination with Canadian rock 'n' roll started. I got into them shortly after their sophomore album Michigan Left was released, and I listened to it an obscene amount of times... about 95 times in 2012 alone, according to my last.fm math. Good times, good times. I'm also a huge fan of their first album and their third, High Noon, has really grown on me in the past few years, but I initially didn't dig it much. Their latest release, Morning Report, is pretty mediocre... and yet there are a few gems on it that make me go back to it on occasion. Even when the Arkells suck, they're still better than 90% of the other stuff floating around out there. Max's undeniable charm helps.

Maximum swagger.

A while back I approached MrPrezident about helping out with his Canada Day releases this year. He's released so many fantastic Canadian songs during his time here that I wanted to contribute to the songs I'd inevitably be downloading on July 1st. He asked me for some suggestions and in the ensuing back-and-forth of custom candidates, he settled on this one because he knew I'd say yes after all the clammoring I've done in the past to get the Arkells into my library. Once I'd sent the finished vocals back to Prez, he asked me if I'd be interested in publishing this sucker. DUH, YES. I had envisioned a custom venue for it since the beginning, and I really hit the mark I was aiming for. But a venue is nothing if not for the instrument charts accompanying it, so shout-out to Prez for completing the guitar and bass and drummerockbandfor supplying the drums. There are keys in the actual song, but they aren't exactly prominent, so I marked them as no part... I hope this isn't deception! I'd gladly add a keys part if somebody can handle the insanity. I even considered adding a few pieces of it on my own, but I didn't see the point when I realized how much I wouldn't be able to chart. Sorry

I'm glad Prez settled on this song, both for me and for players and listeners new to the band. It's easily one of their best songs, very accessible, and quite the jam. I can confidently say it's one of my most Rock Band-y releases. You don't need to be a fan of the band to enjoy playing this custom. But don't take my word for it...

I'd also like to apologize to MrPrezident for waiting until the eleventh hour with this release. My weeks have been extremely busy lately and much of what little time I do have for myself is used for working on customs, but I didn't know I'd be doing the venue for this one until midway through this past week. I began working on this pretty much as soon as I could, but my perfectionism wouldn't allow me to get it done any sooner. I hope it was worth the wait!

HAPPY CANADA DAY! 'Merica's birthday is right around the corner! If you'd like to contribute improvements or animationsor if you have suggestions for how I can do better, please contact me. Thanks for reading!

Well I'm shocked because I tried really hard to hear any keys and.... nothing. I would have charted them, I swear.

You'll hear them when the chorus begins around 1:03 in the preview video. Happens at the second and final chorus as well. If there are any synth parts between those, I don't hear 'em at the moment listening on my normal computer speakers. It's much more impressive/fleshed-out in the live video I linked. Don't worry about adding them! It would just be a bunch of boring sustains for the album version

But I want to personally thank you for all the collabs we've done over the past year, and for working on this and the Mother Mother song. You helped make this Canada Day a special one. Thank you.

It is my absolute honor to work with you, sir. I love bringing dreams to life, and you've been instrumental (DERP) in that process! Cheers to many more collaborations.

You'll hear them when the chorus begins around 1:03 in the preview video. Happens at the second and final chorus as well. If there are any synth parts between those, I don't hear 'em at the moment listening on my normal computer speakers. It's much more impressive/fleshed-out in the live video I linked. Don't worry about adding them! It would just be a bunch of boring sustains for the album version

Yes, those are some nice organ chords.

In spite of all your attention to detail, you misspelled the song's name, it appears. 'the' is not capitalized, but 'Is' should be.

Six months in the making, but it's finally here. And even if it didn't make it into the database in time for Canada Day, at least it made it by the end of July! Because, you know, the band is called July Talk. See?

This Rock Band 3 custom song, Picturing Love by July Talk, is my nineteenth release and the first custom available in the database featuring Peter and Leah's juxtaposed, angelic, gritty vocals. It's like chocolate and vanilla swirl softserve ice cream!

Available in black and white, just like the custom venue.

A bit over a year ago, July Talk appeared in my suggestions thread but I really regret choosing the songs featured in that post. Even though I mentioned this tune, I didn't think it would be much fun for every band member, so I skipped it. Well, screw them. This is definitely a vocalist-focused song, but everything else turned out pretty great! Check it out:

I've made my adoration for Canadian rock music pretty well known 'round these parts, so I'll spare you the gushing (this time) and just get straight to the details about the custom itself.

Back in January, MrPrezident offered to tempo map a number of songs for me. Socialism at its finest! This one was on the list, and he got it to me in short order. It was then sent off to Whizzer for the drums, and he got it back to me just as quickly. I proceeded to lay down the vocal and bass charts, but without a guitar chart, which I knew I wasn't up for charting, this sucker languished on my hard drive until last week, when DenVaktare returned to the fold and tackled the missing element. Now it was time to break out the shoe shine...

I had the venue and drovox finished (but untested) since winter's end, and since there wasn't much more for me to do beyond tweak and test, I decided I'd try my hand at the keyboard part. I think it turned out nicely, but there's absolutely room for improvement. Any takers? I wasn't sure how to handle the left- and right-handed parts, so I played it pretty conservatively and tried to only chart one hand. That being said, the keyboard chart is really fun to 5-button keytar, so I think I did something right!

Vocals got a big upgrade. I charted them in February, and since then I've learned a lot about when to stress over tube length and when to say good enough because it won't effect gameplay. My philosophy on vocal charting developed and crystalized since I received the tempo map, so I was able to make significant improvements. It plays well. Challenging, but fair.

My venue creations have also improved as I've learned more of the little tricks. In particular, I'm referring to crowd interactions. The audience should interact with the venue much more "realistically" than in my earlier customs, knowing when to clap and when to stop clapping. They should also cheer at appropriate times when the song begins and ends. Feedback in this respect is welcome, as it might act differently on my Wii...

The venue for this song was inspired by the consistently black and white music videos July Talk releases. Unfortunately, because I can't use the mirror post-processing effect at the same time as using the black and white filter, I allowed for some color during two portions of the song. But it seems appropriate and I'm very pleased with how everything turned out.

It does suck, though, that the Wii's unpolished version of the game limits what I get to play around with. I wanted to use the blackout_spot lighting for this one, but it is so dark (yes, even with spotlights activated). I resorted to using my tried 'n' true silhouettes_spot, which looks pretty good on the Wii (all things considered). So, sorry, XBOXers and Playstationeers... if I can't enjoy blackout_spot, neither can you.

If you'd like to contribute improvements or animations or if you have suggestions for how I can do better, please contact me. Thanks for reading! Now go sing like an angel or a demon... or both!

Huge thanks for Picturing Love! July Talk is my favourite band, so it's great to finally see them in the game, and right when they announce a new album for later this year! Their live show is unreal. Since you really like Canadian music, have you heard the 2 newly released Metric songs? The upcoming album is going to be amazing.

k-mac, you are welcome for both the Arkells and the July Talk tunes! Hopefully you'll also enjoy the significant update to Soul Asylum's Runaway Train I just uploaded to the database. The main feature is the new pro keys chart, but a complete changelog is listed in the database entry. Enjoy, and thanks for the feedback! I will look into the Metric songs

Sometimes arriving at your destination takes a long, long time. Roadblocks, detours, rest stops with senators... but even when you reach the end of your travels and you're safe in the familiar comforts of your home, you shouldn't forget that the journey itself was part of the adventure. Such is the story of this custom.

This Rock Band 3 custom song, Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, is my twentieth release and the first custom available in the database featuring the ragtag collection of dirty hippies fronted by a man whose fragrance you can smell just by looking at his picture.

Someone light a candle.

Thirteen months ago, this band appeared in my suggestions thread and when MrPrezident said he'd tempo map songs for me last January, this is one of the first tunes I named. How Harmonix hasn't released this delightful ditty baffles me. Their loss, as usual. Now let's hit the road!

Something about this song is magical. It just comes off as so genuine and sweet and charming and innocent and real, and if you've ever seen it performed live, it really is a... a phenomenon you have to experience. Unfortunately, frontwoman Jade was kicked out of the band because she loves drugs a bit too much, so you've probably lost your chance... which, honestly, is a true shame. I hope the two of them reunite someday and I get to witness that pure joy again.

I described this custom as a journey. I say that because I did the heavy lifting for this song half a year ago, and I've learned a great deal in the interim and have applied it to this custom now, before its about damn time release. The original bass chart, which you'll never see, has been significantly improved. I tried to maintain consistency, but I also tried to maintain the fluidity and movement of the part. It was a delicate balance, but I think it's really, really fun and bouncy to play! I hope you agree, but I'd appreciate feedback either way, be it positive or negative. Honestly, besides vocals, it's the stand-out instrument for this custom.

The vocals were extremely overcharted, but when I playtested them this week, well, damn son, I nailed it. I was able to sing exactly like Jade and Alexander during the verses and nail every phrase. The chorus needed a bit of trimming (and my OCD didn't make that process any quicker) but I think it was worth the time I spent perfecting it. I'm extremely pleased with the vocals charts. The lip sync isn't perfect, but it's probably as good as it's going to get. I'm especially proud of the lip sync and venue during the dialogue between the two singers near the middle of the song. It turned out beautifully, if I do say so myself! I tried to represent that adorable charm and chemistry the two possess(ed) on stage. I hope it warms your heart to perform it with a friend!

If you do perform with friends using the harmonies version of the song, you'll notice the whistling is charted to the third vocal part in the form of "ba"'s. I took a page from my earlier release of My Girlfriend's Dead by the Vandals and thought "ba" was a good representation of singing the whistling part. If you want to whistle it, go for it, but ba-ing should work fine as well!

If you don't want to ba, the melody-only version of the song has a tambourine part charted during the whistling instead. I also learned that I can use the Not Displayed Percussion notes to have a singer playing with the tambourine even if no player percussion is present! Sweet!

The usual suspects provided the drum and guitar charts, which, you may realize by now, I don't touch. Whizzer provided the drums, which are finally seeing the light of day (to his great relief, I'm sure... if he even remembers charting them! ) and DenVaktare very recently supplied the guitar, which is why you're finally able to download this custom. A huge thanks to both of them, as always! They are quality collaborators, and I proudly feature their works in my customs... which wouldn't even exist without them! Well, they'd exist, but not as full-band, and therefore be damned to rot on my hard drive... point is, kudos, dudes!

There is a piano sometimes playing during this song, but charting it was beyond my skill level and time allotment, so I decided to not bother with it. If anybody could supply a full-fledged and worthwhile piano chart for this song, I'd gladly update it in the future (as I recently did with Runaway Train by adding the Hammond Organ part). [Update 10/29/18] Emotional Flight has added pro keys! A huge thanks to him!

If you'd like to contribute improvements or animations or if you have suggestions for how I can do better, please contact me. Thanks for reading! Now go smoke a cigarette that might be your last.

"And no one gets remembered in this listless, loveless life for the things they didn't do..."

I respect and appreciate few singer-songwriters more than Frank Turner. It's my great honor to bring this custom, the first single from his fantastic album England Keep My Bones, to Rock Band. Let it be the first of many.

This Rock Band 3 custom song, Peggy Sang the Blues by Frank Turner, is my twenty-first release and the second song by him and the Sleeping Souls available for Rock Band (the first, I Still Believe, courtesy of Harmonix!) and the first custom available in the database.

Frank makes me question my sexuality. Brains and beauty.

Frank was, of course, featured in my suggestions thread and this custom was the very obvious Obvious Choice. It's the story of his deceased grandmother coming to visit him and passing on her views on how to live life properly. And it's good advice at that. I often find myself reflecting on Peggy's wise notion that the journey and destination is far more important than the starting point. Keep going, dammit, and waste none of the limited time you're given on this rock!

[Gameplay video courtesy of BornGamerRob]

Features:

Fully custom venue from scratch

Vocal chart from scratch

Dryvox lip sync for all threevocal parts

Vocal tonic note

Reductions for all instruments

Numeric ID for Wii leaderboards (Song ID 649200021)

Tempo map by MrPrezident

Guitar by TomGuy and DenVaktare

Drums by Whizzer

Not really much to say about the production of this song... it's a song I love and I wanted to bring it to Rock Band for that sole reason. MrPrezident provided the tempo map to get me started, and I contracted work out to the usual suspects:

Whizzer provided the drum chart, which he insists is very, very fun, but I'm no drummer. He told me I need to get my shiz together and learn to drum because this isn't a chart you'd want to miss out on playing. Then I made the poor guy wait a few months before the song was released. Typical me. Sorry, buddy, and thanks as always!

Like me, TomGuyis a fan of Frank, so he was my go-to guy to ask to provide the guitar chart. He generously obliged, but because he's so adorably insecure, he wanted to know if it was "good enough." Me being me and knowing nothing about guitar charting, I passed the chart onto DenVaktare for quality control. With their powers combined, they've provided a really fun chordfest to strum through. Dare I say it's actually a bit tricky, in a good way!Thanks, gentlemen!

The vocals are the obvious highlight of the custom and why I chose to create it. If you sing like Frank, there are going to be some challenging parts, because he freaking screams sometimes. Good luck emulating him. Also, there are a few really nice sing-along harmonies to make you warm and fuzzy, and lots of pretty ahhs at the end.

The bass part is varied and interesting and has a crazy lil' section midway through that will throw you through a loop and break your combo if you aren't ready for it. I'm quite proud of how it turned out, even if it isn't particularly challenging overall. Enjoy!

Finally, I actually have a pretty darned fleshed-out piano part charted for the keys slot, but it isn't completely finished and I don't trust myself to get the chords right. If somebody wants to step up and complete what I've started, get in touch with me! I already have the keyboardist animation events plugged into the custom. But for now, you'll have to do without it.

If you'd like to contribute improvements or animations or if you have suggestions for how I can do better, please contact me. Thanks for reading! Now go out there and do the things you'll wish you did when you're knocking on death's door.

Sometimes a song is so compelling that you can get past the utter boredom offered by the instrument charts. I've never released a custom that's so across-the-board simple before, but once you've listened to the verses and hear the chorus, you'll be singing along and scrawling your signature in the hotel registry every day. You can check out, but the tune will never leave your head.

This Rock Band 3 custom song, Mr. Tillman by the Father John Misty, is my twenty-second release and the second custom available in the database featuring the, uh, unique singer-songwriter. The first custom, Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings, was released in 2016 by Chainsaw Octopus, with whom I collaborated to bring this catchy, trippy 2018 song to your libraries.

Jesus Christ, girl.

If you recall, Chainsaw is the fellow who nurtured my initial interest in customs creation by allowing me to tweak the vocals charts to many of the awesome customs he's released over the years, including letting me add harmonies to Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings last year. In fact, Chainsaw is the guy who introduced me to Father John Misty, and since then I've become a bigger and bigger fan of the musician. This is one of the few artists not in my suggestions thread! And when I heard Mr. Tillman and couldn't stop listening to the damn thing, I knew I had to make it into a custom, and Chainsaw is the man I knew would be interested in collaborating with me.

After broaching the subject with him, he agreed to help out without hesitation, and within a day the tempo map and drum chart were in my hands. Since then, he also added the guitar chart. I completed the snoozefest bass part and the vocals in the past few weeks, and I will say that the harmonies present in this song were a real chore to chart, and that's putting it lightly. I'm still not positive they're perfect, so I'd welcome feedback affirming they're good or telling me how to make them more accurate.

Even the main vocal part was rough going because of the way FJM sings it. He trails off so much that accurately charting those very low notes was frustrating and I eventually said forget this and made them unpitched. It's much better for gameplay. After all, it's "hard" enough to sing because there's so little room for breathing. If you disagree with my decisions, I'd appreciate feedback. If you think you can pitch them better than I have, I'd be curious to see how you go about it! But finally, after many hours, I'm satisfied with the melody's vocal chart. It's as good as it's going to get, as far as I'm concerned.

This song was really fun to create the venue for because it's so different from anything I've done thus far. I typically split the camera cuts between the band to keep things interesting visually, but the real star of the custom here is the singer and the accompanying post-processing effects. So the heavy focus on the singer was a conscious decision, and I hope the post-processing effects keep things interesting for everybody... since watching the band members play their boring parts would be just that: boring. I got to use a bunch of effects I typically don't utilize because they finally seemed relevant and appropriate. I hope you enjoy!

If anybody would like to add pro keys to this song, contact me. I'm disappointed they are missing, but I know I couldn't do them justice. I'm a simpleton!

It's always a pleasure working with Chainsaw Octopus and I'm sure this won't be our last collaboration. It is nice to finally release one of our works under my own name, however! I enjoyed putting on the polish and presenting something to the community I try to make as close to an official DLC as possible. If you'd like to contribute improvements or animations or if you have suggestions for how I can do better, please contact me. Don't be alarmed; this is just my vibe.

Thank you so much for this. It's one of my tracks of the year so I'm really glad to have it on RB3. Even though I'm predominantly a bass player I might just have to break out the microphone (when the house is empty because I am a shockingly bad singer).

Thanks again - more Father John Misty is always appreciated around these parts.

This Rock Band 3 custom song, Army by Ben Folds Five, is my twenty-third release and joins a number of customs featuring Folds available in the database.

Now I'm told, "You're growin' old."

Ben Folds Five was not featured in my suggestions thread even though I'm a long-time and dedicated fan. So why did I skip them? Well, I had a hunch that doing justice to any custom song by the band would take a ton of effort because of the piano parts, and I was right. To me, there's simply no point in releasing a piano-heavy song withouta piano chart, and I know I don't have the talent to chart quality piano parts myself. Luckily, a dude named Andrew Smith did most of the work for this one. I hunted down a fantastic MIDI of Army created by him and, without it, I wouldn't have even bothered working on this song. So thank you, Andrew Smith, whoever and wherever you are!

[Gameplay video courtesy of Fat Ha1p3rt]

Features:

Fully custom venue from scratch

Vocal chart based on work by GrmRepr0

Dryvox lip sync for all threevocal parts

Vocal tonic note

Reductions for all instruments

Numeric ID for Wii leaderboards (Song ID 649200023)

Tempo map by Whizzer

Bass and pro bass by Whizzer

Drums by Whizzer based on work by GrmRepr0

Pro keys by Emotional Flight based on a MIDI by Andrew Smith

It should go without saying that this custom took much more work than simply importing a MIDI file into Reaper and compiling it in Magma, but this particular song had authors go above and beyond the call of duty. I typically consider my releases comparable to official DLC because of sheer arrogance, but thanks to Whizzer and Emotional Flight, this is by far the most full-band full-band custom I've ever released. And it will probably hold that honor for my entire tenure here.

Emotional Flight took that Army MIDI and turned it into an Army chart. He even created manual reductions for the pro keys part, but I'm pretty sure Whizzer and I probably fiddled with his work in some detrimental, ignorant way. Honestly, we passed this Reaper file around like a joint at a free, public, open-air concert. Things got complicated. Hopefully Emotional Flight's work is still properly represented, and if anything is subpar, I am to blame. An epic thank-you to you, Emotional Flight!

I initially worked on the bass part based on what GrmRepr0 had charted, but then Whizzer decided he would chart a pro bass part. Yes, pro! For all nine of you who play pro bass! It's a wicked part, and you absolutely mustpublicly thank Whizzer for his efforts if you play that sweet pro part! I don't even play pro bass, but I'm thanking him here and now! It's always a pleasure to work with you, Whizzer, and to make a little magic.

Whizzer also improved GrmRepr0's drum chart, and it should go without saying that it's a fantastically fun drum part if, unlike me, you actually know how to drum.

Typically, now is when I ask if you would like to contribute improvements or animations or if you have suggestions for how I can do better. But guess what?

This son of a gun has full pro keys and pro bass animations. Holy moly!

[Gameplay video courtesy of Fat Ha1p3rt]

You can once again thank Whizzer and Emotional Flight for the animations. When creating the venue, I made sure to focus on the bassist and keyboardist (and drummer, of course!) to highlight the animation efforts that went into this custom. I always put a lot of love into my custom venues, and while this one isn't my favorite, it might be my best, simply because of what I was given to work with, thanks to my collaborators. I hope you enjoy the show!

Thanks for reading! Now go take a class and lose that Southern accent.

Thank you so much for this. It's one of my tracks of the year so I'm really glad to have it on RB3. Even though I'm predominantly a bass player I might just have to break out the microphone (when the house is empty because I am a shockingly bad singer).

Thanks again - more Father John Misty is always appreciated around these parts.

You're welcome! Yeah, something is compelling about the song. The only other Father John Misty I'd want to work on to get into Rock Band is probably I'm Writing a Novel because it sounds like it would be a blast for the whole band and at parties. But that would be far in the future...